A PhrygianScale
Formula
A Phrygian on the chromatic circle
A Phrygian is the 3rd mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.
A Phrygian across the fretboard
Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.
Chords in A Phrygian
Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.
Where A Phrygian fits
Dark minor with a ♭2: metal riffs, Spanish-flavoured music and modal jazz. Over a minor chord when the ♭2 is meant to be heard.
A Phrygian is mode 3 of the major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:
Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:
Phrygian scale in every key
A Phrygian scale questions
What notes are in the A Phrygian scale?
A B♭ C D E F G. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
What is the A Phrygian scale formula?
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, H W W W H W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).
How do you play the A Phrygian scale on guitar?
This page draws every note of A Phrygian up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.
What chords are in the A Phrygian scale?
Am7 (i), B♭maj7 (♭II), C7 (♭III), Dm7 (iv), Em7♭5 (v°), Fmaj7 (♭VI), Gm7 (♭vii).
When is the A Phrygian scale used?
Dark minor with a ♭2: metal riffs, Spanish-flavoured music and modal jazz. Over a minor chord when the ♭2 is meant to be heard.